Mechanical face seals typically are used for sealing two components, where one of the components can be a stationary seal and the other component can be a rotating seal. A common failure mode of mechanical face seals in such instances is overheating due to high friction between the rotating seal and the stationary seal. Friction between the rotating seal and the stationary seal is generally governed by factors such as the static load and the material pair. Improvements in design of mechanical seals that lessen the dependence on such factors to avoid overheating are desirable.